And the Oscar-winning actor revealed that, while straddling a scooter may not seem the most dangerous of stunts, he and co-star Julia Roberts had a near-miss during filming.

Hanks narrowly avoided crashing while shooting a scene with the Eat, Pray, Love star on the back of the bike.

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“The one scene where I’m driving her home, I did almost run into a car,” he admitted at the Hollywood screening.

The 54-year-old, who produced, wrote and directed the film, joked: “She said ‘You almost killed us both’ - and I said ‘Shhh, shhh, I don’t want the director to find out!’”

Larry Crowne marks Hanks’ return to directing after a 15-year break, but the Toy Story star said the key to success behind the camera was preparation.

“You just plan for the long haul, you plan out your shots, you don’t panic, you stay nice and calm if you can, and just shoot as fast as you can,” he revealed.

The film is the second collaboration between Hanks and Roberts. They previously appeared together in 2007’s Charlie Wilson’s War.

LARRY CROWNE (12A)

After being made redundant from his job at a superstore, former Navy man Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) decides to broaden his skills base by enrolling for public speaking classes at East Valley Community College. Arriving late on his first day, Larry meets feisty teacher Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts), who is stuck in an unfulfilling marriage to her husband, Dean (Bryan Cranston). With encouragement from classmate Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), and next-door neighbours Lamar (Cedric The Entertainer) and B’Ella (Taraji P Henson), Larry musters the courage to ask Mercedes to join him on his haphazard journey of self-discovery.